Scottish Referendum

The Conservative Party are committed to a positive message for the people of Scotland that emphasises their intrinsic value to the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom's intrinsic value to them. In the last year alone the UK economy grew by 2.7% bringing in billions for Scottish business, real wages grew giving the Scottish worker a pay rise, and inflation has been kept on target. As a part of the United Kingdom Scotland has access to more and more opportunity as an equal and valued part of our family of nations than it could ever get by going it alone. The message is simple, Scotland is better off in the union with more opportunities and growth than it is on the outside.

Conservative MP for North East Bedfordshire
Leader of the Opposition (2014-16)

The SNP seem to believe that if they leave the United Kingdom they will magically remain a member of the European Union, now quite why a nation trying to gain independence from one body would wish to join another is beyond me, but the EU has repeatedly said that this is farcical thinking. The only way for Scotland to have a chance to remain in the European Union would be for Scotland to vote to remain in the United Kingdom. If you believe that the EU benefits the Scottish people and that therefore Scotland belongs inside it you have to vote to remain in the United Kingdom.

Conservative MP for North East Bedfordshire
Leader of the Opposition (2014-16)

Every Westminster Party made the same pledge in the last General Election, if Scotland remains in the United Kingdom then Scotland shall be granted further devolutionary powers for Holyrood. Every party signed up to a raft of additional measures in our manifestos and every party stands by those commitments including my own party the Conservatives. Scotland is better off inside the United Kingdom where it will get access to all the opportunities that that entails whilst also being granted additional powers in conjunction with a new national devolutionary settlement across the United Kingdom.

Conservative MP for North East Bedfordshire
Leader of the Opposition (2014-16)

Tariff free trade with the rest of the United Kingdom is in Scotland's national interest, it provides Scottish businesses the chance to sell to the rest of the United Kingdom without having to pay additional charges on their produce. The best way to ensure the continuation of friction-less trade with the rest of the United Kingdom is to vote to remain an equal part of our family of nations. Scotland's economy is best served in the United Kingdom, as a part of the UK it will continue to grow strongly going forward.

Conservative MP for North East Bedfordshire
Leader of the Opposition (2014-16)

In the world around us, there are so many issues - climate change, international tensions, navigating the opportunities and challenges created by globalisation and technological innovation, ensuring multinational corporations are held to account - that cannot be tackled by any one country on their own. This, to me, is the reason why internationalism is so important. But it is also why the union is so important. Together, the nations of the United Kingdom can be effective defenders of human rights, leaders in the fight against climate change, and construct a fair, sustainable and prosperous economic future. If Scotland decides to go it alone, we'll all be so much weaker in tackling these challenges.

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If Scotland votes to leave - and I urge them not to - I, and millions of others throughout the United Kingdom, will feel a profound sense of loss. Our nations have been enriched by our centuries of cooperation and friendship, by the contributions made by individuals from every corner of our Union. I feel we are losing out on a very real sense of community here, a very real sense of being able to work with and support one another, and creating a future that is gloomier simply because that union, with the history and bonds that come with it, being weakened. I believe that many people, even those who are tempted by the SNP's arguments or have legitimate issues with the current political framework within the UK, will come to share that feeling too. That cannot be underestimated.

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I think part of the reason that so many Brits, from every corner of this union, feel so strongly about preserving the United Kingdom, is that Scotland has been a source of some great icons - in every domain of life - throughout its history. Many of the United Kingdom's greatest artists, engineers, merchants, thinkers, philosophers and political leaders hail from Scotland - I think that shows that Scottish people can be leaders within the UK, and that Scottish opportunities are amplified rather than diminished by being part of the UK. My own party has had some of its greatest figures hail from Scotland - I was elected as an MP under Charles Kennedy and joined the party in large part because of Jo Grimond's legacy. Scotland and the Scottish people have long been leaders, rather than leavers, and that is a major part of why I believe with every fibre of my being that Scotland should vote to stay within the UK.

The Prime Minister is spot-on in her statements to the Daily Record, and I am happy to reiterate that this government, a government that is committed to decentralising power, is committed to expanding the powers given to the Scottish Parliament. The best solutions - on many issues such as certain details of tax, energy and welfare policy - are best decided as close to the people affected by them as possible, and while this government is committed to ensuring central government maintains vital standards and takes the lead on challenges we can only address together, we are committed to the old liberal principle of spreading out power. That is why we are committed as a government to the devolution agenda that the prime minister laid out, and why we are committed to the bold constitutional innovation of guaranteeing that no future government in Westminster can scale back devolution without the consent of the Scottish people.

A "No" vote to remain in the United Kingdom is most definitely not a vote for the status quo, my party have fought hard for more devolution since before the last election (indeed being the first to make the call officially) and we remain committed to the cause. Indeed one of the things that unites the Better Together Campaign is our desire to see the Scottish Parliament given more powers in areas such as tax, the constitution, and making Holyrood a permanent fixture of the UK Constitution. The message is simple, a "no" vote against independence is a vote for more powers for the Scottish people at Holyrood.

Conservative MP for North East Bedfordshire
Leader of the Opposition (2014-16)

The Labour Party's assertion that the SNP's case for independence simply doesn't hold up is 100% correct and I applaud the way that they have made it. Just ask Venezuela with their -5% projected annualised growth rate this year what happens when you build a socialist country based on oil revenues alone. You are open to the international markets and left to the whims of the global economy, in short the exposure leaves your economy open to complete collapse. The SNP's plan to build independence on the back of their oil reserves simply doesn't add up, don't let dodgy sums define your future, vote "no" to remain in the UK and continue to enjoy one of the strongest economies in the G8.

Conservative MP for North East Bedfordshire
Leader of the Opposition (2014-16)

If Scotland votes "no" to remain in the United Kingdom then things are going to change, the Government is committed to more devolution mirroring the call I made when I was Prime Minister before the last election, in short the Scottish Parliament will be getting more powers. In our party's last manifesto the Conservative Party advocated for the Scottish Parliament to be given constitutional control over the voting age for Scottish Parliament and Scottish Council elections and, subject to a two-thirds majority, control over the voting system for those same elections. A "no" vote to remain in the United Kingdom is a vote to give the Scottish Parliament constitutional powers to define its own future and its own system of administration without having to declare full-fledged independence.

Conservative MP for North East Bedfordshire
Leader of the Opposition (2014-16)

Everyone in the Better Together Campaign believes that Scotland deserves more tax varying powers. The Labour Party have set forward their plan and vision for a post-referendum Scotland and I have set forward the Conservative Party plan, at the end of the day though the single unifying message is that a "no" vote to remain in the United Kingdom is a vote for more tax varying powers for Holyrood. The Labour plan would give the Scottish Parliament some additional variance in Income Tax, the Tory plan would give the Scottish Parliament control over the rates of income tax and responsibility for the differing revenues (either generating additional cash for Holyrood or letting them cut taxes for the Scottish people) and the power to vary corporation tax by plus or minus five percent. At the end of the day the message is simple, a "no" vote to remain in the United Kingdom is a vote for more devolution of taxes giving the Scottish Parliament the chance to cut your taxes or spend more on your services. All the parties involved in the Better Together Campaign have made this pledge in one form or another and we will all be bound by it in the event that Scotland remains in the United Kingdom.

Conservative MP for North East Bedfordshire
Leader of the Opposition (2014-16)